Wednesday, 30 December 2015

Now we are 70 - Looking back at our anniversary year

In 2015 we celebrated 70 years in our Gorbals home with plays that put Glasgow front and centre. We look back on a year of great theatre - what was your favourite?

JANUARYWe welcomed back the innovative Filter who started their UK tour of their radical version of Macbeth here at the Citizens. Who knew that Banquo's ghost couldn't resist a dinner party of Wotsits, Coca Cola and a high-stakes Blind Man's Buff?

Ferdy Roberts as Macbeth. Image by Tim Morozzo

Meanwhile our Circle Studio was one of the last places standing in John and Zinnie's Harris chamber opera The Garden set in a dystopian world.

Pauline Knowles in The Garden. Image by Jane Hobson

FEBRUARYAudiences in Glasgow and Edinburgh welcomed back John Byrne's beloved Slab Boys with open arms in 2015. Those cheeky scamps were whipped into shape both on and off stage by David Hayman, who directed as well as performed the role of the boys' gaffer.

Our Valentine's press night saw the staff kitted out in their finest 50s gear and some very special guests in attendance.

"David Hayman rolls back the clock with an impressive revival of John Byrne’s Scots classic, The Slab Boys" The Big Issue ★★★★★

We hosted Dead Centre's Lippy a haunting play inspired by the real life tragedy of four women from County Kildare who chose to take their own lives in mysterious circumstances.

Image by Jeremy Abrahams

Lippy was presented as part of The Arches' Behaviour Festival. Very sadly, The Arches was forced to close in June following a controversial ruling from the city's licensing authorities.

We gave the premiere performance of Douglas Maxwell's Fever Dream: Southside and finally got an answer to the question: Where's Terry?

Set in the streets around Queen's Park, Douglas' funny and surreal was an affectionate but raw depiction of a part of Glasgow that has challenges and triumphs

Photo by Tim Morozzo

MAYAs well as celebrating our 70 years in the Gorbals, there was also a far more painful 70th anniversary in 2015, when we marked the end of World War 2. Gitta Sereny'sInto That Darkness is a collection of interviews with SS-Obersturmführer Franz Stangl who oversaw the deaths of nearly 1 million people in Nazi extermination camps.

Photo by Tim Morozzo

Our Mainstage Director in Residence Gareth Nichollsmade his debut at the Citizens with a searing production, which was adapted for the stage by Robert David Macdonald. Macdonald was one of the three artistic leaders under whose leadership the Citizens became known around the world for contemporary tellings of classic texts.

We were busy over the summer months preparing for our most ambitious project to date: a stage adaptation of Alasdair Gray's iconic 20th-century classic, Lanark. Lanark: A Life in Three Acts was written by David Greig and directed by Graham Eatough whose collaboration first began with experimental theatre company Suspect Culture.

Image by Eoin Carey

One of the most hotly-anticipated events at the 2015 Edinburgh International Festival, the eyes of the world were on the Citizens Theatre. It was met with rave reviews with audiences and critics, and audiences flocked to see the show when it returned home to Glasgow in September.

SEPTEMBER

On 11 September 1945, the Citizens Theatre Company gave its first performance at the former Royal Princess's Theatre at 119 Gorbals Street.

We marked the occasion with an evening welcoming back old friends to the Citizens, and a documentary charting 6 months in the life of our theatre as well as some of our history broadcast on BBC Scotland and BBC Four. You can watch clips from the broadcast, including interviews with Pierce Brosnan and Mark Rylance on the BBC's Arts website

Lots of people got in touch to tell us about their memories of the theatre and the times that they've spent here, and we loved reading them all and hearing everyone's stories.

We also celebrated the legacy of the notorious Close Theatre Club which has established 50 years ago with a season of three productions which honoured. Gareth Nicholls was joined by Vanishing Point Artistic Director Matt Lenton and Debbie Hannan to direct the works in our Up Close season in our Circle Studio.

Images by Alex Brady.

Our third world premiere production in 2015 was a brand new musical for Scotland, created as a co-production with Ambassador Theatre Group. The Choir was written by Paul Higgins, with songs by Deacon Blue frontman Ricky Ross and told of a disparate group of people brought together to sing in a community choir, not always willingly, in Wishaw.

The corridors, offices and workshops of the Citizens rang with Ricky's hummable tunes that got everybody singing, and audiences loved this feel good night out.

DECEMBERWe closed our anniversary year with two shows for families: the wild and anarchic Rapunzelburst onto our main stage while 3 - 6 year olds and their families were treated to an adventure to the North Pole in Flora's Fairy Challenge.

Thank you to everyone who has seen one of our shows, got in touch with their memories of the theatre, taken part in one of our classes, or worked with our Learning team.

About

Internationally reputed for its repertoire the Citizens Theatre presents a mixture of contemporary versions of classic plays and new Scottish drama. We work with writers, directors and companies that have a reputation for producing outstanding work to deliver truly inspirational live theatre.

Located in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, the Theatre is led by Artistic Director Dominic Hill and is one of the few self-producing houses in Scotland.

Our Citizens Learning team is committed to enhancing the lives of all kinds and ages of people in Glasgow and beyond, through community productions, projects, classes and educational activities. See Take Part.